In front of him was not a narrow vein waiting to be mined, but a vast ritual site. Several eerie heads hung high on the sacrificial altar.

There were also six black-robed men sitting cross-legged in six positions, absorbing the blood qi from the surrounding blood pool.

The blood-stained sacrificial altar had claimed countless lives.

Surrounding the altar was a wide artificial blood pool, with four extremely peculiar statues directly opposite, each with a different expression.

Yet their eyes seemed to harbor a fierce light, glaring angrily at the central altar.

The blood pool was littered with corpses, both demon beasts and humans, their bodies shriveled but exuding dark red energy.

A path wide enough for only two people led from beneath Li Xingtian's feet straight to the center of the altar, then through the entire altar to the other side.

His pupils widened in shock as he looked around, realizing that everyone else seemed oblivious to the abnormality.

They still believed they were in a crowded tunnel, squeezing through a narrow mine shaft, heading deeper inside.

Was this... a large-scale illusory realm?

Could someone at the Foundation Establishment Stage be immune to such illusions, or was there something else allowing him to resist this environment?

Suppressing the unease in his heart, Li Xingtian chose to continue following the crowd for now, needing to understand what the Qingfeng Sect was truly up to and what lay behind them.

His plans might have to be completely overturned after witnessing this scene.

Could the true nature of the Qingfeng Sect be that of an evil cult?

Li Xingtian kept his head down, cautiously following the crowd, slowly passing through the altar in the center of the path.

Beyond the altar, deeper inside, was a normal mine, where everyone held mining tools, ready to extract ore.

The mine appeared genuine, but... what was that sacrificial ritual procedure?

This question was answered the moment the first miner wielding a pickaxe began to dig, and Li Xingtian suddenly realized.

With each strike, a faint dark red energy drifted from the miner's crown, flowing towards the blood pool.

All the miners were the same, with strands of dark red energy gradually converging into a formidable force.

Li Xingtian's gaze fixed intently on one miner, suddenly realizing that this dark red energy seemed to be extracted from their spiritual roots.

It wasn't just the miner's flesh and spiritual power being consumed, but even the foundational spiritual roots of their cultivation were being worn away.

No wonder the miners looked so emaciated; working every day while having their flesh and blood extracted, how could they not be skin and bones?

This was pure evil cultivation technique, unheard of, and the formation's range was so vast!

Li Xingtian dared not mine, as it seemed the amount of blood qi provided was determined by one's spiritual roots and cultivation level.

If he started mining, leading to his own cultivation and spiritual roots being drained, he would stand out too much among the crowd, producing not just strands but arm-thick streams of dark red energy.

He needed to find a way to leave first and inform his master.

As for Ning Qianqian's father, based on his master's instructions, the most important principle was to protect oneself when the situation was unclear.

He could only hope for his safety.

Li Xingtian could sense that the cultivation levels of the six black-robed men were around the Foundation Establishment Stage.

If the necklace given to him was reliable, breaking out might be a good idea, especially since he had a decent chance of success.

On the day Li Xingtian successfully established his foundation, his master also gave him a divine ability that suited him perfectly.

It was of extremely high quality, as if it had been prepared long ago, just waiting for him to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage.

This made Li Xingtian, who thought he had seen through some of his master's mysteries, feel that his master was once again shrouded in mystery.

These things were naturally not the main point. For his savior, as long as his master didn't truly wrong him and wasn't like the Qingfeng Sect, Li Xingtian would stay in the sect to repay the debt of gratitude.

But over time, this small sect of only three people made Li Xingtian feel incredibly warm.

Although the senior sister was a bit mischievous, she treated him like family.

Every day, she caught beasts for him to practice with, and she genuinely urged him to train diligently.

Though her gaze sometimes seemed to disdain him, her actions were sincere.

As for his master, there was no need to mention it. Although he sometimes seemed frivolous and not mature or stable, his master had an extremely unique charisma, seemingly out of place in the cultivation world, yet very convincing.

Except for that unorthodox alchemy technique he learned from who knows where.

But towards Li Xingtian, he was genuinely selfless, from giving up opportunities to offering guidance.

If at first, it was just out of gratitude for saving his life, over time, Li Xingtian truly felt he was willing to join this small family-like sect.

From cultivation techniques to divine abilities.

All of this was like a treasure to Li Xingtian, but high-quality divine abilities were naturally difficult to master.

After all... not everyone had the senior sister's extraordinary comprehension.

However, simply borrowing some of its power, combined with his past life's divine ability, should make his combat strength considerable.

He didn't believe the six black-robed men in front of him would also possess divine abilities.

After surveying his surroundings, Li Xingtian decided to strike first! Better to act first than suffer later!

He suddenly gripped the pickaxe in his hand and turned back towards the altar.

A Qingfeng Sect disciple guarding the area immediately noticed Li Xingtian and shouted:

"What are you doing?!"

Li Xingtian showed a hint of fear, seemingly weak-kneed as he slowly approached the scolding Qingfeng Sect disciple:

"I... I need to use the restroom."

"The work schedule is tight! You can go in your pants, but keep working! Get back!"

When he was close enough, Li Xingtian suddenly erupted, appearing before the Qingfeng Sect disciple in an instant, his spiritual power surging.

His past life's divine ability—Nine Heavens Xuan Luo Blade, combined with the roughly studied divine ability—Slaughter Immortal Transform Soul Nine Nether Blade.

Both being blade techniques, he could borrow from them.

The pickaxe in Li Xingtian's hand suddenly transformed into a large blade, the dark red energy carrying immense power as it slashed towards the Qingfeng Sect disciple's head.

The disciple couldn't react in time, especially when facing the swift speed of a divine ability!

He felt his whole body freeze, his soul intimidated by the aura.

He could only show a look of terror before Li Xingtian's strike took his head.

With one swing, Li Xingtian cursed inwardly.

Damn, the consumption is quite high.

Li Xingtian felt that nearly half of his spiritual power had been expended with that single strike!

He hadn't expected that merely borrowing a bit of power and path would consume twice as much as his previous divine ability.

However, the effect was impressive.

What surprised Li Xingtian was that when he mobilized his spiritual power... he seemed to faintly sense the energy of the pool.

Before Li Xingtian could continue sensing, the six black-robed men suddenly stood up, turning towards him.

One of the black-robed men roared in a hoarse, indistinguishable voice:

"Where did this brat come from to cause trouble here?!"

"Foundation Establishment? Today you'll become our blood offering! We'll show you the true meaning of cultivation!"